Welcome to the third installment of my series of interviews with the contributors of the horror anthology PURGATORIUM from ID Press! Now that we have the 4 members of ID Press completed, we can go on to the other contributors of the anthology.

I have found each of these interviews to be highly entertaining and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did. Today we have Kate Arms, Mel Cober and Samantha Banik in the spotlight.

Kate is always eloquent and she stopped me in my tracks with one of her answers. On the subject of her favourite genre, she replied:

“Wherever I can find poetic language about philosophical ideas and questions about what it means to be a human being, with a preference for writers who are willing to look at the dark sides of humanity and find beauty there.” ~ Kate Arms

Now that’s something I can fully get behind! These interviews are peppered with beautiful and thoughtful insights. I’m glad I poked the contributors…they continue to delight me with their responses.

I must remember to bring Mel a nice pile of fluffy kittens the next time we get together. From the woman who thinks being nice is overrated. 🙂

And I think I may have fallen a little in love with Samantha after reading her response to question #16. So very true!

Enjoy Kate, Mel, and Samantha’s interviews! All are wise, witty and wonderful…

Purgatorio Dialogues – V – Kate Arms

Kate Arms

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Feeling passionately alive in the present moment.

2. What is your most preferred genre as a writer?

The easy one to write – now, if I could just figure out which one that is…

3. What is your greatest fear?

Horrible things happening to my kids.

4. What is your most preferred genre as a reader?

Wherever I can find poetic language about philosophical ideas and questions about what it means to be a human being, with a preference for writers who are willing to look at the dark sides of humanity and find beauty there.

5. Which horror writer do you most admire and why?

The one that most recently gave me shivers. I’m fickle that way.

6. What was your idea of horror prior to setting off on this adventure into Purgatorium?

That too much is badly written and involves jump scares and gratuitous gore, but that the best stuff is marvelously disturbing.

7. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Prudence

8. What is your idea of horror now that you’ve been to Purgatorium?

A way to explore the dark side of humanity without actually hurting anybody.

9. What else have you written?

Personal essays, poetry, contemporary adult fiction, a manifesto on how to have healthy relationships, a book of writing prompts, and too much unpublished YA fantasy.

10. When and where were you most afraid?

I was held up at knife point outside my apartment one night in my 20s.

11. Which talent would you most like to have?

The ability to write a first draft that doesn’t need revision.

12. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

“A bag of groceries accidentally taken off the shelf before the date stamped on myself” (h/t They Might be Giants)

13. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

I need to ask my son. He’s writing the graphic novel “Death vs. Darkness”, and Misery is a central character. He probably knows.

14. What are your three deserted island books?

Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Huis Clos by Jean-Paul Sarte, and “Map: Collected and Last Poems by Wislawa Szymborska“.

15. Who are your favorite writers?

The ones I am reading at the moment who are captivating my imagination, the ones I get to hang out with, and Shakespeare.

16. Who is your hero of fiction?

The writer.

17. What sound grates on you more than any other?

The video game soundtracks from all the games my children play.

18. How would you like to die?

In a book written by a friend. Or my sleep.

19. What sound brings you deep joy?

Waves crashing on a rocky shore.

20. What is your motto?

Carpe the F*ck Out of This Diem. (Stolen from a mentor, Kristen Bentley, who took it from her mentor, L.A. Reding.

19. What sound brings you deep joy?

20. What is your motto?

Purgatorio Dialogues – VII – Samantha Banik

Samantha Banik

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

That moment when I walk in the room to pick my daughter up from daycare and she first sees me. That look in her eye of unconditional love and happiness, followed by pure excitement as she runs into my arms squealing. That right there. That is my happy place.